The Fashion and Textile Museum‘s major autumn exhibition, Knitwear: Chanel to Westwood, presents over 150 never shown to the public inspirational knitwear pieces from the collection of Mark and Cleo Butterfield. Designs by Coco Chanel and rare crocheted evening dresses from the 1930s to late 20th century innovations by Vivienne Westwood will be displayed at the museum in central London until 18th January 2015.
Showcasing over 100 years of knitwear history, the exhibition begins by exploring the role knitting and crocheting played in the creation of functional garments, traces Chanel’s introduction of stylish, practical twinsets made from jersey, moves on the the era of ‘make do and mend’ during the Second World War and continues exploring the knitwear developments and trends up to the experimental 90s.
Display from ‘Visionary Knitwear’
Knitwear: Chanel to Westwood is further enriched by ‘Visionary Knitwear’, a display of bold knitting designs from the 21st century selected by Sandy Black, Professor of Fashion and Textile Design and Technology at London College of Fashion. Shown alongside the main exhibition, the display highlights new directions in knitwear produced by designers who are influential throughout the fashion industry.
